Find support during your pregnancy (and beyond):

UCSD is home to hundreds of undergraduate and graduate students who have children. Many of these student-parents have experienced pregnancy and childbirth while enrolled as a full-time student. Contact us to reach out for support, advice, and most importantly, friends who know the ins-and-outs of parenting while holding academic responsibilities.

Please join an undergraduate or graduate student-parent e-mail list so you can connect with other student-parents for support early in your pregnancy. Feel free to send an e-mail anytime you wish to meet other student-parents, either with a specific request for support, or just a general inquiry.

If you are an undergraduate or graduate student-parent with medical proof of pregnancy, you are eligible to live at UCSD affiliated housing. You will have priority placement at Mesa Family Housing. This means you can move to Mesa Family Housing and have your own apartment as soon as you know you are pregnant and that you will be placed in an apartment with priority consideration.

Already live on campus? If you are pregnant and you wish to move to family housing, you are eligible. You may apply for family housing and you will receive priority consideration.

UCSD Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) has a student-parent support group for group therapy sessions on subjects of interest while balancing academic and parental responsibility. CAPS also offers individual counseling for registered students.

Contact group leader Samuel Park at (858)-534-0249 regarding the Student-Parent Support Group, or contact CAPS at to schedule an individual appointment at (858) 534-3755.

Once you become a parent you are considered an "independent" student for financial aid purposes. This means you may qualify for more tution assistance than you currently have if you have been classified as a "dependent" student.

The following text is cited from Question # 50, FAFSA Q&A: "Do you have children who receive more than half of their support from you between July 1, 2011 and June 30, 2012? ―Support includes money, gifts, loans, housing, food, clothes, car payments or expenses, medical and dental care, and payment of school costs. An applicant whose unborn child will be born before the end of the award year (June 30, 2012) may answer ―Yes‖ if the child will receive more than half of his or her support from you throughout the award year. Note that the support is the issue here; it does not matter whether the child lives with you or not."

As a student who is pregnant you may be eligible for the following state and federal programs:

"The CalWorks program provides temporary financial assistance and employment focused services to families with minor children who have income and property below State maximum limits for their family size."

"The CalFresh program helps to improve the health and well-being of qualified households and individuals by providing them a means to meet their nutritional needs."

Note: The information above is quoted directly from the links provided for each program as an informational resource for UCSD student-parents. Please refer to each individual agency for application procedures and eligibility.